The Kiss
by Politics.and.Prose
Summary: They all knew there was going to be a catalyst. None of them thought it would be this. Based on spec for the Superbowl ep. One-shot. Open ended on purpose. T for bad language. Mainly a Puckleberry Sam FRIENDSHIP Fic.


Based on the horrible spec of a Fuinn kiss in the Superbowl Ep.

This is for Laura. You are my greatest encouragement. You don't let me get away with having ideas and letting them evaporate. You are my muse and one of my very best friends. Thanks for never giving up on me. (Also, sorry this isn't a happy story. I'll write you a happy one later.)

.**xo**.

He stood frozen in place, eyes wide and heart practically dormant in his chest. There was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

His girlfriend could not possibly be kissing Finn Hudson in the middle of the football field.

He had to admit they made a striking couple. He saw what the kids used to talk about. He could imagine them walking down the hall together, hand in hand, parting the students like they were royalty.

The head cheerleader and the quarterback. How high-school-cliché.

He had to look away when he saw the lights from the stadium reflect off the ring she wore on the third finger of her right hand. And when he did, he saw another body, frozen much like his was.

_Rachel_, his mind whispered.

His eyes shot back to the pair on the field, obviously oblivious to the attention they were garnering, and then he turned back to see Rachel's small frame start to shake slightly.

He moved quickly, eyes averted from the cheerleader and quarterback on the field, jogging to where Rachel was. Much to his surprise, as soon as he reached her Puck did as well.

"Let's go, Berry," Puck said softly, eyes locked on Finn and Quinn.

"He's …" she whispered brokenly, wide, innocent eyes moving up to look at Puck. "They're …"

Puck wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side before turning them around and heading towards the baseball field. "Coming, Evans?" he called over his shoulder.

Sam spared one last glance at the couple, now separated but standing close, and turned to follow Puck and Rachel off the field.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Sam," Rachel whispered as the three of them, still clad in their football uniforms, sat together in the home dugout.

"For what?" he asked, his gaze turning to hers.

"Rach …" Puck sighed.

"If I hadn't screwed things up with Finn before Christmas then none of this would be happening," she insisted. "So, you know, I'm really sorry."

Before Sam could open his mouth, Puck slammed his palm down onto the wooden bench. "Jesus, Berry!" he yelled. "Not everything is your fault, okay? I was there too."

Sam looked back and forth between them, knowing there was something the he didn't know but not sure if he had the guts to ask. He silently watched as Rachel and Puck had a conversation through their gazes alone.

Just as he was going to excuse himself, Rachel softly said, "You stopped it, Noah. I … I wasn't going to. I wanted …"

"I know what you wanted. You wanted to hurt Finn." He shrugged nonchalantly. "And you did. All it was going to take was me touching you to make him angry and jealous, Rachel. The kiss just sealed the deal."

"Hold on," Sam interjected with wide eyes. "You two kissed?"

"The fuck you been, dude?" Puck asked with a scoff as he flung an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "That was, like, before Sectionals. I woulda thought it got around like crazy by now."

Sam shrugged, his eyes moving to stare at the dark, empty diamond. "I don't listen to much of the gossip," he said honestly. "To be honest," he leaned towards them, dropping his voice even though they were the only three around, "I kinda tune Quinn out when she talks about stuff like that."

"Yeah," Puck nodded in agreement, a small smile crossing his face. "I usually just stared at her tits."

"Noah!" Rachel gasped, sliding away from him. "Not only are you an uncultured miscreant but you're an oversexed whoremonger with the all the sensitivity of a head of cabbage!"

Both boys stared at her for a moment before Sam barked out a laugh he couldn't control. He tried to cover it with a cough but was unsuccessful. And that set Puck off.

The boys laughed loudly, occasionally snorting (Sam) or slapping his hand against his thigh (Puck).

Rachel frowned, not terribly impressed with the blatant show of disrespect.

"Where the fuck did you pick that up, Berry?" Puck asked through his chortles. When Rachel remained stoically silent, Puck laughed harder. "I know it's not from one if your Streisand movies and you sure as shit didn't come up with that one yourself. So? Out with it. Where'd you come up with that gem?"

"_Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip_," she admitted with a giggle. "It had Matthew Perry in it."

"I have no idea why you have such a fucking crush on that homo. Redford, I get. Ford, hell yeah. But Matthew Fucking Perry? You have some really low standards, B."

"Obviously," she shot back as she stood. "I did date _you_ after all."

"Hold up," Sam interjected. He had been perfectly content to sit back and let the two of them do whatever awkward, obnoxious flirty thing they were doing, but now he was curious about the dating thing. "You two dated? When?"

"Last year," Puck said with a grin as Rachel responded, "Perhaps _dating_ is too strong a term …"

"The fuck you mean too strong a term?" Puck asked, a frown on his face.

"It was ten days, Noah, and it was mostly kissing in my bedroom," Rachel responded with an exasperated sigh. (Sam had a feeling this was an all-too-familiar conversation for these two.)

"Best ten days of your life, baby," he told her with a sly grin.

"Hardly," she responded. "All of my top ten days were spent with …"

When she fell silent, all three were taken back to the reason they were sitting together on a Friday night at the school's baseball diamond.

Finn and Quinn had been kissing on the football field. And it hadn't looked like it was a 'congrats on the win, buddy!' kiss either.

Sam swallowed thickly as his heart dropped into his stomach.

_So this is what it feels like to have your heart broken_, he thought before turning to the other two. "Whaddaya say we get changed and go out for burgers or something?" he asked.

"Sounds good," Puck answered for himself and Rachel. "B, go get changed into something less sexy. Meet us by my Sam's car."

"Why mine?" Sam asked, his brow furrowed.

"Dude. I stole my mom's car and crashed into a store. You think she let's me drive? And Berry doesn't drive unless she has to. And apparently, today she didn't have to."

"It's more environmentally friendly to take the bus," she responded tartly.

"It's more communicable-disease friendly to take the bus," Puck responded.

"Oh please. You could spit in a Petri dish and start a whole new civilization," she retorted with a scoff.

"That's from _The West Wing_!" Sam added with a smile. At the others' confused looks, he continued, "My big sister was a poli sci major and loved that show," he shrugged. "And I got to watch it with her."

Puck stared at him, mouth wide open and brow furrowed. "How much older?"

"Noah!"

"Puck!"

"Just asking," he laughed. "Now let's get the fuck outa here, huh?" He slapped Rachel on the behind. "Get movin'. Meet ya at the car."

"You disgust me," she told him smartly, attempting (and failing) to hide the smile on her face, before quickly striding away.

She just hoped Quinn wasn't in the locker room.

Of course, her life couldn't be that easy. She knew she brought a lot of it onto herself. She made it difficult for people to like her. Sometimes she wondered if it was her subconscious intentionally making her unlikable.

If she didn't have any friends she would get hurt.

She always told herself that she _wanted_ friends, though, so that couldn't be it. She figured she just wanted everything too much. She wanted fame too much; she wanted popularity too much; she wanted to win too much.

She wanted Finn too much.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that, as she peeled her jersey over her head, she stumbled and almost ran right into Quinn.

"Sorry," she muttered as she hurried to her changing space.

"Rachel," Quinn said quietly. "I think we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about, Quinn," Rachel said as she quickly pulled off her shoulder pads and pulled her sweater over the tank top she was wearing. "Your dance routine at intermission was excellent, though," she continued as she stripped off her pants and pulled on a pair of jeans. She stuffed the jersey in her locker and left the shoulder pads and pants on the bench. "I really have to be going, Quinn. Have a wonderful weekend," she concluded before grabbing her bag and rushing out of the room.

* * *

"Sorry about your luck, dude," Puck said as he and Sam leaned against the blonde's vintage '65 Mustang. "Q can be kind of a bitch."

Sam exhaled loudly, arms crossed as he looked down to his sneakers. "Yeah. Sure. But, you know, everyone can be. Like, you know, Santana …"

"Santana's a fucking deranged psycho bitch."

"Aren't you dating her?"

"_Fucking_ her," Puck corrected. "Or I was. I think she's tryin' to get into Finnessa's pants now. Guess she's on chicks again."

"Isn't he your best friend?" Sam asked.

"Was," Puck shrugged. "But I knocked up Q and then I kissed Rachel …"

"I thought she kissed you."

"I didn't tell her not to," Puck said softly, his eyes directed to the ground. "I knew what was going on. I knew why she invited me over. I knew the look in her eyes …"

"You seem to know a lot about her," Sam said, his eyes shifting to the other boy, foot scuffing against the pebbled asphalt.

"We've known each other a long time," Puck replied nonchalantly. "Like, since she moved here in third grade. We weren't _friends_, exactly, but we knew each other." He paused. "She didn't deserve everything I did to her and she sure as shit doesn't deserve what Finn's doing to her now. Hell, if I was a better guy I would tell Finn that I seduced her into kissing me."

"But you didn't."

"Nope," Puck replied honestly. "But I won't say I hadn't been thinking about it since the moment they broke up. Well," he amended, "I'd probably been thinking about it since the last time it happened." He paused. "You seem to be taking this whole thing really well. I mean, didn't you buy her a ring?"

"It obviously meant more to me than her," he shrugged. "I'm not gonna cry or anything. Sure, it hurts. But I'm sure what I'm feeling is a lot less intense than what …" he trailed off, eyes catching movement.

He looked over and saw Rachel scurrying towards them and, behind her, was a swiftly moving Quinn.

"The fuck?" Puck asked voicing Sam's thoughts.

"Rachel! Rachel, please! I just want to …"

"Get in the car," Puck growled at Sam. He was mildly shocked when the other boy listened to him. He strode purposefully towards the two women. "Rach, get in the car. Q, stop right the fuck there."

Quinn ignored him, of course, making to move right past him.

Now, Puck would never lay a hand on a girl who didn't ask him to. But he seriously had to restrain himself from grabbing her arm. He let Rachel pass and then stood in Quinn's way, blocking her path to the other girl. "Not a good idea."

"Puck," the blonde sighed. "I need to talk to Rachel. I need to tell her …"

"You don't need to say a fucking thing to Rachel," he spat back. "Actions speak louder than words anyway. So just back the fuck off."

"But what she saw …"

"What the whole fucking glee club and football team and every other fucking person at the field saw was you with your tongue down Finn's throat. Doesn't take a fucking genius to figure out what was going on." He took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and running his hand over his mohawk before catching her gaze. "What happened tonight was fucked up, Q. You and I both know it. But it doesn't change anything." He paused. "Needless to say, I'm pretty sure you and Sam are going to be having a talk in the near future …" he grinned almost maliciously as she paled. "And that pretty little diamond won't be on your finger for long. Wear it while you can, Q." He glanced over his shoulder to see Rachel look down at her cell phone and quickly hit a button. _Finn must be trying to call her_. "You know the kicker of this whole thing? I wasn't surprised."

"What?" the blonde asked, eyes wide.

"C'mon, Q. You're back on top. He's back on top. You were fine with Sam while he was top dog and Finn was in the gutter with Berry but once he got back up there? Once he and Rachel were broken up because Finn fucked Santana? I could see the look in your eyes. You missed having the most popular guy in school." He cleared his throat. "I loved you, you know? And I knew I wasn't good enough for you. But, you know what? I was wrong. I _am_ good enough to be with you." He paused. "Too good, maybe." He shook his head, eyes wandering back to Rachel and Sam as they spoke quietly. "I'm getting really fucking sick and tired of you making messes and trying to walk away from them. You're getting what you deserve this time. So save your little speech for Rachel. She doesn't need to hear it …"

"Noah? Are you coming?" the small brunette called from the back seat of the car.

"Yeah," he responded, eyes never leaving Quinn's face. "I'll be right there." He exhaled slowly. "I hope it was worth it, Q. Because those two in there? They deserve better than the shit you and Finn put them through tonight. And you can tell your new little boyfriend that I'll be by to have a chat with him later."

"Puck," Quinn tried, voice shaking, at the same time Rachel called out, "Noah?"

"Gotta go," he told her. "Have a good night, Q. And don't forget to tell Finn he and I are due for a conversation."

"Puck, please … you have to-."

"I don't," he responded as he backed towards the car, a shit-eating grin on his face. "That's the beauty of this whole fucked up situation. I don't have to listen to a goddamn thing you have to say. See ya Monday, Q. Can't wait to see the fallout," he added before jogging to the car and climbing in the front seat before telling Sam to "get a fucking move on".

* * *

When Monday morning rolled around, the students of William McKinley had all heard the rumor of Quinn and Finn's infidelities. Puck was only all too happy to confirm the truth (after he had warned Rachel and Sam that he would be doing so).

What they hadn't heard, however, was that the spurned lovers and Puck had forged a friendship in just three days. (Well, Puck and Rachel had been spending time together since before Christmas when _The Incident_ had happened, but Sam was a new and welcome member of their group.)

So it came as a shock to _everyone_ when the three walked into school Monday morning, Sam's arm slung casually around Rachel's shoulders with Puck's tucked around her waist. Rachel was chatting merrily about so-and-so from some-stupid-ass-play going on some-stupid-talk-show to announce that some-stupid-movie was going to be made.

"So, while I'm sure Mandy and Katie are perfectly fine to continue with the Broadway production, I do believe Kristin Chenoweth is going to announce that she and Idina are going to team up for the much anticipated screen version of …"

When she trailed off, the oddly attentive Sam turned his head to see Finn heading towards them, a mixture of anger and nerves in his gaze.

Without being told, Sam slipped his arm from around Rachel's shoulders and down to her waist before turning them in the opposite direction and letting Puck confront his (former?) best friend.

"What the hell, man?" Finn asked loudly as he approached Puck, his eyes wandering over his friend's shoulder to see where Rachel and Sam were headed.

"Good question, asshole," the shorter boy spat back, arms crossed defiantly.

"So, what, she's with Sam now?"

"Not like it's any of your fucking business, but she and Sam recently discovered they have something in common," Puck responded, an almost sinister smile on his face. "You know what that is, Finny D? It's that the person they're in love with was making out with the person the other one is in love with last Friday night. Ring any bells?"

"It wasn't like that," Finn tried, his fear overtaking his anger. "Rachel saw?"

"The whole fucking school saw, douchebag!" Puck yelled furiously.

"It wasn't …"

"Save it," Puck spat back. "It doesn't really matter what it was or wasn't. _You_," he emphasized with a poke to the quarterback's chest, "really fucked up this time. I mean, like _really_ fucked up. You could have fucked Santana on the fifty and it wouldn't have hurt Rachel as much as you kissing Q did. I mean, seriously, what the fuck were you thinking?"

"What the fuck was I thinking? What the fuck was _I_ thinking? You fucking kissed my _girlfriend_, dick! But that was after you got the last one pregnant. And you want to know what the fuck _I_ was thinking?"

"Yeah. I do wanna know what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking you kissed my fucking girlfriend," Finn responded as he moved closer to Puck. "Or, more accurately, _she_ kissed _you_ to get back at me for something I did that wasn't even _wrong_."

"Yeah? Maybe it wasn't wrong but it sure as fuck wasn't right. And you fucking told Santana as much right after you got off. So tell me something, Finn. Tell me why you kissed her."

"I didn't mean to, okay? It just … it just kinda happened. One minute we were all just, you know, celebrating. And the next …"

"The next you had your tongue down Quinn's throat," Puck responded flatly.

"She kissed me, okay? Quinn fucking kissed me and I was so caught off guard that I didn't … I couldn't …" Finn swallowed thickly, eyes averted to the ground. He took a deep breath and spoke to his shoes, "I didn't realize it was her until it was too late."

"You couldn't tell the difference between Rachel and Q?" Puck scoffed incredulously. "C'mon, man. I only kissed Rachel a coupla times and I know the …"

Finn grabbed Puck by the shirt and swung him against the lockers. "Don't you ever talk to me about that again," the taller boy growled furiously. "As far as I'm concerned, your lips never touched Rachel."

Puck grabbed Finn's hands and ripped them from his shirt, his jaw clenched and his eyes hard. "If it never fucking happened then why the fuck aren't you still dating her?"

* * *

"I don't need to be protected from Finn, Sam," Rachel said softly as she leaned her head against her friend's shoulder. "He would never physically harm me."

"No," Sam agreed. "But Puck would try to fight him and he would fight back and I just had this awful vision of you stepping in the middle of it and a punch getting you right in the temple and you blacking out and waking up with amnesia and then all hell broke loose in Glee and _Brittany_ was singing all the solos …"

Rachel looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. "You have quite the active imagination."

"I've been told," he chuckled, his hand giving her hip a little squeeze. "Wanna get a slushee?"

She turned to him and shot him a withering glare.

"Right. No slushees. Got it. Wanna go …"

"There you are!" Quinn called as she rushed up to them. "I have been looking all over for you," she continued, eyes focused on Rachel.

"Quinn, please," Rachel responded in a tired voice, "it's none of my business. Finn is free to kiss whomever he wishes." She paused, eyes skirting up to Sam. "You want me to …?" she motioned her head down the hall and Sam almost said no, but he saw Mike and Tina headed in the direction Rachel had just indicated.

"Mike! Tina! Do me a favor and walk Rachel to her homeroom?"

Mike and Sam's eyes met for a brief moment before the taller boy became serious and nodded, his arm wrapping around Rachel's shoulders and his free hand grasping Tina's. "I had a thought for a solo for you that would include a dance number for me and T," Mike said, his voice growing quieter as they got further down the hall.

"She can't avoid me forever," Quinn said with a frown, hands on her hips and eyes following the threesome as they disappeared down the hall.

"You didn't even apologize to me," Sam said softly in response.

"What?" she asked as her head turned back so she was facing him, ponytail swishing quickly behind her.

"You didn't apologize for … for what happened on Friday," he added in the same voice. "You didn't bother calling me all weekend. All," he cleared his throat, his emotions finally catching up with him, the reality that his girlfriend _cheated_ finally being realized. "All weekend you tried to call Rachel. Not once, not one time, did you try to call me."

"I," she started. "Sam," she continued softly. "I-I didn't …"

"Before you go any farther I need to know one thing. Did he kiss you first?"

"Sam …" she pleaded in a small voice.

"Just tell me the truth," he said with barely controlled fear. "Just … just tell me he was the one who started it and I'll go kick his butt right now. Please, Quinn," he begged. "Please tell me Finn kissed you first."

Quinn took a deep breath and looked down to her feet, shutting her eyes for a moment. She opened her eyes and looked up at Sam sadly. "I can't do that."

Sam swallowed thickly, eyes moving to the ring she still wore on her finger. "I wasn't kidding around when I gave you that ring, Quinn. I did love you."

"Past tense?" she asked.

Sam shrugged, eyes darting around the hallway. "I don't know. I mean, you – you cheated on me. And you didn't even deny it," he said slowly. "You didn't …"

"I was trying to be honest," she told him quickly.

"Yeah? Well, I appreciate it, I do. But, you know, Quinn … I just …" he shook his head and swallowed thickly. "It's not okay. Cheating isn't okay. I tried not to judge you for what happened last year but … but …" he trailed off, hands clenching at his sides. "But you did it again. You cheated _again_. And the worst part? You hurt way more than just me," he told her seriously. "I just … I can't be with you, Quinn. Not when I can't trust you."

"But Sam!" she cried out. "Sam!"

He ignored her pleas and headed towards his homeroom.

* * *

When he opened his locker before Math he found the ring he gave her sitting inside the open box.

* * *

Finn had no good answer for his (former?) friend. He stared silently, hoping the right words would somehow pop into his head. He knew Rachel would have something to say. She always knew what to say.

Except when she wasn't talking to him.

But somehow, then, she was louder than ever. The silence was _deafening_ and it was all his fault.

Well, no. It was her fault. She went and kissed someone else. And even if he was now to try to call it even, he couldn't. Because, yet again, they weren't together when the kissing (and, you know, sexing) took place.

Even he found that to be too similar to be a coincidence. He wondered if he was ratioing. That even though he _felt_ like he'd cheated on her he hadn't so _technically_ it was okay.

But it wasn't and he knew it.

He looked up to Puck and wondered exactly when it had come to this. He knew, on some level, that it was the day his best friend nailed his ex-girlfriend when she was still his girlfriend and got her pregnant and then helped her cover it up from him and Rachel.

Him and Rachel.

He was surprised when he wasn't shocked to realize that they were the only two who didn't know. Because everyone knew she would freak and tell him.

And that was something of the same reason he didn't tell her about Santana. Because he thought she would freak and break up with him.

But she didn't. She suggested couples counseling and did everything in her power _not_ to break up with him.

And then she kissed Puck.

She. Kissed. Puck.

Rachel kissed Puck.

The words kept looping in his mind and they just didn't, couldn't, make sense to him.

"Because what she did was wrong," Finn said quietly. "No matter who it was with, it was wrong. As if the four of us weren't fucked up enough already, she goes and does that? She cheats on me with you? It's like Quinn …"

"Don't you fucking say that!" Puck yelled at Finn. It was his turn to back his former friend against the lockers. "Rachel isn't like that."

"She admitted she wanted to hurt me!" Finn shouted back as he attempted to remove Puck (without any luck).

"If you hadn't lied to her in the first place …!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Finn yelled back, still unable to break free of Puck's hold.

"Yes you did!" Puck screamed in response. "You dumped her so you could date Brit and Santana. And that was your own fucking fault. Rachel's the kind of girl who loves attention! She … she _needs_ it, okay? So when St. Jackoff looked at her twice? God, you fucking moron. He didn't give a shit that she wasn't a Cheerio. He liked her for who she was."

"He was using her!"

"And whose fucking fault was it that he even got the chance? Huh, Finn? Whose fault was it?"

"Fuck you," Finn spat back.

(Neither of them noticed they were drawing a crowd.)

"That's right, Finn. It was your fault. All because of your stupid reputation."

"You didn't last very long with her. Guess your reputation was too important too."

"She broke up with me, dipshit. God," Puck growled as he shoved back from Finn. "Yeah, it was kinda mutual, but fuck, dude. I gave up football for her! For Rachel! What the fuck have you ever given up for her?"

"So, what?" Finn asked, blatantly disregarding the question. "You trying to tell me you're in love with Rachel?"

"No," Puck retorted.

"Bullshit. Glee, giving up football. You're fucking in love with her."

"Shut your fucking mouth, Hudson. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just man up an admit it. Tell the fucking truth."

"I'm not in love with Rachel," Puck forced out with an eerie calm.

"Bullshit."

"Seriously, dude. Just fucking let it go."

"No," Finn shouted, unable to stand it anymore. He pressed his hands to Puck's chest and shoved, causing the other boy to stumble backwards across the hall to hit the lockers on the opposite side. "I can't let it go. You're in love with Rachel."

"No, I'm not!" Puck yelled back and braced himself for when Finn reached him and pressed him back against the lockers, a combination lock digging into his shoulder blade.

"Why the fuck should I believe you?"

"Because there's someone else."

"Bullshit! Who?"

"Drop it, Finn."

"Tell me who!" Finn yelled.

"Just fucking drop it, okay?"

"No! Just fucking tell me!"

"Quinn, okay!" Puck screamed as he shoved Finn off of him. "Quinn."

Well, Finn certainly wasn't expecting _that_.

"So, you know, fuck off," Puck told him without any malice as she shoved away from the lockers and from Finn. He had to get to fucking homeroom or he would violate his juvie probabtion.

* * *

The rest of the day passed without much incident. Finn avoided Puck. Puck avoided Quinn. Quinn avoided Sam. And Puck and Sam took Rachel to and from every class. Well, at least one of them did. (Puck more often than Sam simply because he knew Finn wouldn't go near her with him around.)

The end of the day brought about glee rehearsal. Sam was actually quite happy with the assignment (an oldie-but-goodie that sums up your feelings). He had the perfect song.

"Mr. Schue," he said as he raised his hand from his position next to Rachel. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go first."

"Uhhh, sure, Sam," Will said with a crease in his brow. "Are you … did you and Rachel work on a duet?"

"Mr. Schue, as I'm sure you've already heard, I had a very _trying_," she emphasized, her eyes drifting over to Finn to glare at him, "weekend and therefore was remiss in completing my assignment. I assure you that by the next rehearsal I will have something prepared. In the interim, I am more than excited to see what Sam's prepared."

"Oh … kay," Will responded. "Go for it."

Sam nodded once to the class and then to the band. He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it on top of the piano facing the club. "Since I started hanging out with Rachel I guess I kinda picked up a flair for the dramatic. So, you know, here it is."

He took a deep breath, nodded once more to the band and started to sing.

_Who wants to bu-u-uy this diamond ri-i-i-ing?  
She took it off her finger, now it doesn't mean a thi-i-i-ng  
This diamond ring doesn't shine for me anymore  
And this diamond ring doesn't mean what it meant before  
So if you've got someone whose love is tru-u-ue  
Let it shine for yo-ou-ou_

Sam's eyes traveled the room, making note of how Tina and Mercedes started to whisper immediately and how Quinn sunk a little lower in her seat.

_This stone is genuine like love should be-e-e-e  
And if your baby's truer than my baby was to me-e-e-e  
This diamond ring can mean something beautiful  
And this diamond ring can mean dreams that are coming true  
And then your heart won't have to break like mine did  
If there's love behind it_

Santana glanced between him and Quinn, a slow smirk crossing her face. Sam knew, without a doubt, that the breakup would be all over school by seven a.m. He almost felt bad for his ex-girlfriend.

Almost.

Finn watched Rachel out of the corner of his eye. She was tapping her foot, though it looked kind of sad. He watched as Puck glanced at Quinn and then back to Rachel, then focused on Sam.

_This diamond ring can mean something beautiful  
And this diamond ring can mean dreams that are coming true  
And then your heart won't have to break like mine did  
If there's love behind it_

_This __diamond ring__ doesn't shine for me anymore  
And this diamond ring doesn't mean what it meant before_

_So if you've got someone whose love is tru-u-ue_  
_Let it shine for yo-ou-ou_

Rachel stood up immediately and walked to Sam, pulling him into a hug. "That was very brave," she whispered.

"Thanks," he whispered back, his eyes meeting Quinn's over Rachel's shoulder.

"Excuse me," the blonde sniffed as she stood up, her fingers wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Of course," Will responded softly, his eyes trailing her as she walked out of the room quickly.

"I'll check on her," Mercedes said as she stood and followed, Tina right behind her.

"If they can leave, I'm leaving," Santana said grouchily. "C'mon, Brit. Grab Wheels and let's go."

Brittany nodded once and wheeled Artie out of the room behind Santana.

"I'm out," Lauren said with a sigh as she too stood and left the room.

"Guys …" Will tried.

"Sorry, Mr. Schue," Sam said with a shrug as he closed the ring box and shoved it into his pocket. "I'm thinking today's a wash."

"I'd better go find Tina," Mike added as he grabbed their bags and headed out.

Rachel and Puck began gathering their bags but Finn got to them before they could make a break for it. "Rach? Can we …"

"It's okay, Noah," Rachel said softly, her eyes locked on Finn's, though she could feel Noah bristling next to her. "I'll meet you outside."

When he was gone and Mr. Schue had retreated to his office, Finn suddenly got nervous. He pulled at the collar of his shirt then ran his hand over the top of his head. After taking a deep breath, he looked up to Rachel and said, "Rachel? Can we talk for a minute? There's ... I just really think we should, you know, talk. About us."

Rachel nodded slowly before lowering herself into a chair.

Finn sat next to her, took her hand, and started to talk.


End file.
